Ours - Live Again

Today's song is Live Again by the band Ours from their 2008 album Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy). They are led by singer Jimmy Gnecco, who has a singing voice reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. My friend Matt introduced me to this band several years ago, and I have since had the chance to see them live a couple of times.

The song starts out pretty intense with the drums and guitar followed by Jimmy's singing a bit later as the intensity dies down shortly, before building back up. This is a very good example of Jimmy's vocal capabilities and the power he puts into his singing. You can hear him doing all sorts of things on this song, as he is harmonizing with himself by doing multiple takes of his vocals and layering them. This harmonizing is especially apparent around 2:20. My favorite part is probably the intensely powerful scream at 3:26 following the musical buildup. It's simply spectacular, and even more so when heard live.

I'm having a bit of trouble analyzing the lyrics for this song; though maybe I'm just terrible at analyzing lyrics in general. I think it's supposed to be a hopeful song. It's about someone that has had a past full of depression and who is unable to feel. They have been stuck in a cycle of cutting, in an attempt to help, but it has only led to the cycle repeating itself. The lyrics suggest instead "forgive yourself and then you're gonna heal" and then this person can "live again".